Summary: Justin testifies against Bryce but he isn't convincing. Eventually the school is held innocent. Jessica goes to the police instead with the help of everyone else, and both Bryce and Justin are arrested. Cyrus confesses to the school about the vandalisms and he and Tyler have a verbal spat. Cyrus is suspended and Tyler is forced to take a different program and isn't allowed to come back to school. Mr. Porter is fired. Monty is confronted by Alex but he doesn't have the polaroids.
The Good: I liked that the characters were well-defined enough for me to figure out who was int he opening scene without it being told. That scene did have big issues though (see: The Bad). I have enjoyed Mr. Porter's storyline a lot. He has finally been fired in this episode and I liked his final scene where he tries his best to help out the kids while the principal evidently doesn't care for it. I do like the subtle foreshadowing which seems to hint at a suicide from Tyler in the future. Justin on trial had some good emotional relevance and that made it very easily watchable. I like that Justin had to face his reality and reflect on everything he lost, as it added some emotion to his story, helping to make him more likeable overall. The Bad: The opening scene had really bad acting and writing. The kid actors weren't the least bit convincing and it felt like they were just doing bad impressions of Bryce and Justin instead of being child versions of them. I can never buy that Bryce or Justin behaved and talked the way they did in childhood like that. It was ridiculous. I hated that Clay's family drama lead nowhere just like many other storylines this season. It's disappointing. The worst part is that I feel like there will be more dropped storylines. Apparently the coach is aware of the clubhouse and that does answer some of my earlier complaints about his existence, but it makes it all the more ridiculous that the school isn't aware of this. Furthermore, revealing that the coach is technically on Bryce's side is huge but I doubt it will be treated as such. I don't expect that it will lead to any more story in the future, rendering it pointless. I found the court scenes to be weak again. The closing arguments didn't really reflect on each lawyer's central argument which I thought was stupid. These court scenes should have been done in more linear fashion, as the show's complex storytelling has removed a lot of the flow and emotional engagement. Furthermore, I thought that the story which was concocted around the truth surrounding Justin was really poorly done, and without any evidence it shouldn't have been anywhere near as damning as it was. Clay and Justin's relationship hasn't been good either. I can hardly buy that they are as close to each other as is portrayed, and I find it difficult to care about their relationship. The tie scene was ridiculous to me as well, like who doesn't know how to tie a tie if thy have worn it before? It felt like a bad attempt at a metaphor for how Justin is best friends with Clay now instead of Bryce. Tyler's story is awful. It is ridiculous that he would have thought "hey maybe if I put evidence of me and Cyrus vandalizing school property online, he will want to be friends again". Why would he think that would help? It's stupid and nonsensical, and behaviour like this makes these characters feel more like props than actual characters. Tyler also says some really troubling things here, so why would nobody try to send him to get some mental health? Surely the principal would be smart enough to avoid any other big incident at Liberty but he doesn't seem to care which is dumb. The Monty story was ridiculous. First, Alex with the gun is really bad. Monty should know he won't kill him, so the gun doesn't pose much of a threat, plus it only has a single bullet. What's worse is the fact that everyone gathers but then they leave Alex, the cripple who can easily be escaped from, alone to watch over Monty. How does everyone go along with this? It's easily some of the worst writing this season, and that's saying something. Monty's motivations to threaten everybody are also made unclear which is awful and makes his character feel like its forced for the sake of conflict. I hate the idea that the police don't have any suspicions and just arrest Bryce. Surely they will notice that Justin and Jessica's statements are different from in court. There are transcripts online about things like this! It's just a bad way of the show trying to make us feel happy that Bryce got what was coming to him. Also, the scenes there reminded me that Courtney and Ryan were in this show. They have done nothing all season and feel totally pointless. The Unknown: Who was following Clay and Justin? So is this the end of the Bryce and Justin storyline? Talk about underwhelming. If Monty doesn't have the polaroids, then who does? Best Moment: Justin in court was the most powerful stuff here. Character of the Episode: Justin. Conclusion: This episode concluded everything, but it ended with a real whimper as a lot of storylines were poorly written and underwhelming. This show has had a very disappointing second season and I can't say I'm looking forward to the finale. Score: 44
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|